The Fuldamobil Type 4, or “cello case” as Germans nicknamed it, was produced in 1951, and is considered to be the historical forerunner for modern steering designs with negative scrub radius.

Bosch wholesaler Karl Schmitt produced the car under what was then the Fuldamobil marque, the car’s inspiration coming from journalist and Mechanical Engineering student Norbert Stevenson. The vehicle was manufactured on a tubular steel frame chassis. The body consisted of an ash wood frame with artificial leather upholstery. The angular bodywork came in aluminium from 1952 onwards. The “cello case” moniker came from the rounded body shape a year later. The Type 4 initially only had three wheels due to the tax benefits granted to three-wheelers in the Federal Republic of Germany up to 1955, but the Fuldamobil was also available in a four-wheeled version later on.

ONLY 2,900 COPIES OF THE “CELLO BOX” BUILT

The Type 4 was fitted with engines of up to 10 hp or 24 kW with 200, 250 and 400 cc displacements mostly manufactured by the German engine company Fichtel & Sachs and ILO engine works. A total of 2,900 examples were built between 1951 and 1969.